More than 1600 people at the FEPS and FJJ conference on Equality with Piketty

Thomas Piketty delivered a keynote speech on the topic of Equality to an audience of over 1600 […]

14/04/2016

Thomas Piketty delivered a keynote speech on the topic of Equality to an audience of over 1600 people at a conference organised by FEPS and the Fondation Jean Jaurès, in partnership with L’Obs.

 
The emphasis of Piketty’s message was on the dynamics of accumulating capital that produces unsustainable inequalities. He proposed ways to change this trend, for instance, setting up a progressive General Social Contribution for every income. On the Eurozone, he put forward a plan to restructure European public debt and proposed having a Eurozone Parliament. 
 

The speech was followed by a debate with Daniel Cohen, President on the Scientific Council of Fondation Jean Jaurès and was closed by Massimo D’Alema, President of FEPS. 

Taking place at  La maison de la Mutualité in Paris the atmosphere for the debate was fitting and as the Director General of one of the think tanks organising insisted during the opening, the event was held to illustrate the significance of research proving that inequalities are in fact increasing, this markedly in France, not only in terms of wages but also access to the Labour market.

Thomas Piketty is professor at the École d’économie de Paris and Director of Studies at EHESS. He is the author of Capital in the Twenty-First Century (Seuil, 2013), Top Incomes. A Global Perspective (avec A. B. Atkinson, Oxford University Press, 2010) et Hauts revenus en France au XXe siècle. Inégalités et redistributions, 1901-1998 (Grasset, 2001).

Find all related publications
Publications
29/01/2026

Progressive Yearbook 2026

In an eerie manner, 2025 resembled the ‘time of monsters’, which, according to the great […]
15/01/2026

Financing enlargement via the 2028-2034 MFF

This brief intends to explain how the European Commission’s proposal for the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial […]
19/12/2025

Moving beyond neoliberalism in EU trade policy

European Union trade policy finds itself at a crossroads. After three decades of neoliberal dominance in the […]
15/12/2025

The great unravelling

“The great unravelling” examines the challenges that the new era of globalisation poses for progressive […]
Find all related news
News
29/01/2026

Maria João Rodrigues departs from FEPS Presidency, transitions to Nicolas Schmit

After completing eight years in the role, Maria Joâo Rodrigues has departed the role of […]
29/01/2026

Marianna Mazzucato awarded FEPS ‘Progressive Person of the Year’

FEPS Progressive Person of the Year 2025-2026
21/01/2026

Call for tender – HR consulting services

Applications to be submitted before 18 February
06/01/2026

Venezuela is not about drugs: Trump’s Regional Expansionism and Europe’s Test

FEPS Commentary on US military intervention in Venezuela
Find all related in the media
In the media

Can the EU ever become a superpower?

by Euronews 20/02/2026
In this episode of the podcast Brussels, My Love, FEPS President Nicolas Schmit discusses the informal meeting of the Antwerp European Industrial Summit and the Munich Security Council.

España los forma, Europa los contrata: así es el mapa de la nueva fuga de cerebros

by El Confidencial 10/02/2026
Spain trains them, Europe hires them: the map of the new brain drain: László Andor, FEPS Secretary-General, discusses the 'brain drain' as a result of the EU’s single market and highlights the need for a fairer mobility and retention strategy across the EU.

Von der Leyen’s management style ‘not good for Europe,’ says ex-commissioner

by POLITICO 02/02/2026
In this article published by POLITICO, FEPS New President Nicolas Schmit raises concerns about the Commission’s long-term vision and strategic planning, while noting its limited response to U.S. sanctions against Thierry Breton.

‘Regreso al futuro. El gran reseteo’ by Lina Gálvez

by Tinta Libre 02/02/2026
“Back to the Future: The Great Reset” Opinion article by FEPS Vice-President, Lina Gálvez reflecting on the current global crisis marked by rising authoritarianism, digital power and extreme inequality, and tracing its roots through a historical analysis of capitalism — from the post-1945 social and geopolitical settlement led by social democratic forces, through neoliberal financialisation, to what she describes as a new phase of fascist capitalism.